legacycentral bbs

Hey guys,

Been having some issues with engine temps at the track. Among many things I am considering an air cooled oil cooler. I know on 91s there was a stock liquid cooled one but this will not really help cool the engine as a whole, but just the oil.

Anyways, I am concerned about the oil pressure drop that could be caused by it and its location being so close to the exhaust manifold/the routing of the lines and was wondering if any of you had done it.

This is what i was thinking (not from summit tho)
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/HDA-459/

Well I think your engine temps are related to the cooling system temp issues, especially with the stock water/oil cooler. As I mentioned in your other thread, you may want to try and add some ducting from the outside of the fenders to grab some high pressure air when your drafting.

What sort of engine/engine oil temps are you seeing?

I haven't seen many folks run aftermarket oil coolers due to the somewhat complexity and risk associated with them. I agree the hoses would be pretty close to the headers. Are your headers wrapped at all? I'd probably run some heat shielding over the oil lines.

I don't think pressure drop should be too bad, maybe a few psi. These things run 75-85+ psi of pressure coming out of the pump. Since the take off is on the high side of the pump it should be ok. I guess my one concern/question would be, is the cooler accepting all the oil flow from the bypass plate over the filter or is it just taking a partial side stream. If all the oil is flowing through the cooler, yeah I'd probably oversize it a little bit to make sure there isn't a flow restriction.

Also, I probably wouldn't put it in the front....I'd try and put it behind the main radiator or some place where if you pick up debris it's not going to cause you to puke all the oil out of the motor.


Without knowing exactly what you were seeing temps-wise, I personally would probably try and increase/improve the radiator cooling, which may negate the need for an external oil cooler.

Legacy777 wrote:Well I think your engine temps are related to the cooling system temp issues, especially with the stock water/oil cooler. As I mentioned in your other thread, you may want to try and add some ducting from the outside of the fenders to grab some high pressure air when your drafting.

What sort of engine/engine oil temps are you seeing?

I haven't seen many folks run aftermarket oil coolers due to the somewhat complexity and risk associated with them. I agree the hoses would be pretty close to the headers. Are your headers wrapped at all? I'd probably run some heat shielding over the oil lines.

I don't think pressure drop should be too bad, maybe a few psi. These things run 75-85+ psi of pressure coming out of the pump. Since the take off is on the high side of the pump it should be ok. I guess my one concern/question would be, is the cooler accepting all the oil flow from the bypass plate over the filter or is it just taking a partial side stream. If all the oil is flowing through the cooler, yeah I'd probably oversize it a little bit to make sure there isn't a flow restriction.

Also, I probably wouldn't put it in the front....I'd try and put it behind the main radiator or some place where if you pick up debris it's not going to cause you to puke all the oil out of the motor.


Without knowing exactly what you were seeing temps-wise, I personally would probably try and increase/improve the radiator cooling, which may negate the need for an external oil cooler.

I have seen pretty big pressure drops from oil coolers in the past 5-10psi. I measured the block temps at the gallery and it was over 350 when she overheated. Guessing the oil was hot enough to justify an oil cooler...

Were those internal block temps or temps from an IR thermometer?

I think a 2-3 and max 5 psi drop through the entire coil cooler & sandwich adapter plate is acceptable. 10 psi is getting a little up there, but I would think that the higher pressure drop would only occur at high pressure, which might be an acceptable loss at 75-80 psi.

Legacy777 wrote:Were those internal block temps or temps from an IR thermometer?

I think a 2-3 and max 5 psi drop through the entire coil cooler & sandwich adapter plate is acceptable. 10 psi is getting a little up there, but I would think that the higher pressure drop would only occur at high pressure, which might be an acceptable loss at 75-80 psi.

IR temp sensor